So far, three candidates have gathered enough signatures to get on the primary ballot.

Dermody will face fellow Democrats John Saunders, of New Bedford, and Gregory C. DeMelo, of Taunton, in a primary election slated for Sept. 9, barring challenges.

The candidates are running to fill the seat of Maria Lopes, who is retiring from public office after more than 20 years on the Bristol County Board of Commissioners.

Lopes was elected to the board and started serving in January 1991, after also serving on the Taunton School Committee for 18 years, she said.

“It was an honor to serve and be elected by the people as many times as I was,” said Lopes, who immigrated to the city as a young woman from Lisbon, Portugal. “I’m very thankful to Taunton, Bristol County and the United States of America for all I’ve gotten, and I’ve tried to give back. That’s why I served as many years as I did.”

The current board includes commissioners Paul B. Kitchen, of Fairhaven, and John R. Mitchell, of Fall River.

Lopes said that she hopes that someone from the northern part of Bristol County can be elected to fill her seat.

“Not more than one county commissioner may be elected from the same city or town,” according to Brian McNiff, spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office.

Lopes said that prior to taking office in 1991, it was “many, many years” since someone from northern Bristol County sat on the commission, which she says has been traditionally dominated by candidates from the New Bedford and Fall River areas.

Saunders, a former longtime New Bedford City Council member, was the first to get his name on the ballot.

Saunders said his 25 years of experience as a city councilor, and his career as a property manager, will work to his advantage.

“Who knows what’s in store for county government, but if it’s run the right way I think, it’s a benefit to the county,” Saunders said. “I think in today’s day and age you need to do more with less. And regionalization is certainly a way that the county has to go about different things. If any services provided … could be combined to save one of the cities or towns money, I’m all for it.”

Saunders said he doesn’t believe his place of residency would shift the balance of power. He insists he plans to represent everyone in Bristol County.

“The seat is the taxpayers’ seat,” said Saunders, who has worked as a property manager for 20 years. “I would represent Taunton the same way I would represent the other 19 cities and towns in the county. I don’t think this is a northern half of the county seat. It is a seat in Bristol County. I will represent everyone in the county fairly and with same enthusiasm and hard work as anyone else who sits in that position.”

John Saunders’ cousin Christopher Saunders, the elected Bristol County treasurer, will be running for re-election in the fall.

DeMelo is making his third run for county commissioner.

He ran in 2002 and again in 2006. He said he was able to round up more than 1,200 signatures and will be on the primary ballot.

DeMelo has lived in Taunton for three years, but considers himself a New Bedford native, and a longtime resident of Dartmouth.

“I’m running for the same reason I ran in 2002,” DeMelo said. “Regionalization is important to me. With Bristol County’s 16 towns and four cities, and more than 550,000 citizens, I believe we can work collaboratively.”

DeMelo, a staff associate in the Bridgewater State University president’s office, is pursuing a PhD in education leadership and policy studies at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

He said he plans to focus on education, if elected, and called the county-run agricultural school, Bristol Aggie, “a gem of an institution.”

The county commissioners approve budgets for the Registries of Deeds and the Bristol County Agricultural High School, and oversee county-owned properties.

DeMelo said he wants to pay attention to “trash and recycling issues plaguing cities like Fall River and Taunton.”

“There’s no room to put the trash,” he said. “What do we do next? A plan has to be devised to help all of these cities and towns. Why not at least try something? I don’t know exactly what that is, but we have to start somewhere.”

He also believes the county should play a bigger role in tackling drug issues.

“Right now, Taunton is at the forefront of the bad press,” DeMelo said of the recent surge in heroin overdoses and opiate addiction across the county. “It’s not exclusive to Taunton, but it’s something that should be addressed collectively with representatives from each city and town.”

He suggested rotating county commissioner meeting locations, taking proceedings on the road to the county’s four cities, and possibly some towns. The board now holds all its meetings in Taunton’s Bristol County Superior Courthouse.

Dermody made his formal campaign announcement April 14 before a gathering of supporters at the Italian Social Club in Taunton.

“County government works best with balanced representation of various interests and areas,” Dermody said. “I believe that I have what it takes to provide that balanced representation. The various cities and towns in the county have many common interests, and when we unite behind those common interests we are at our best.”

Dermody was born and raised in Taunton. He has served on the city’s planning board for 14 years, 10 of those as chairman.

He works as a special projects assistant to the secretary of the commonwealth, William F. Galvin.

“I have 14 years of experience as a local elected official, directly involved in overseeing growth and development all over the city,” Dermody said.

Dermody is also familiar with Bristol Aggie and hopes to work with the school’s administration to implement green energy initiatives and education programs.

He holds a Master’s Degree in public policy with a certification in environmental policy from UMass Dartmouth, and spent years in the agribusiness industry before entering public service.

He has also worked with the Taunton Area School to Career program for 10 years and is the co-founder and chairman of the Taunton Elks Thanksgiving Day Scholarship, which awards scholarships to student-athletes from Taunton and Coyle and Cassidy High Schools.

“All of my life, I have been, and I remain, dedicated to public service and working to improve the city, county, and state where I live and work,” Dermody said. “I have extensive experience with various aspects of local, county, and state government … I believe that all of my education, experience, knowledge and skills make me uniquely qualified to serve as a county commissioner, and I ask the voters of Bristol County for their support.”

Several other Bristol County residents took out candidate papers, but did not return the required signatures.

The list includes Paul J. Levasseur, a candidate in previous years from Assonet; Todd Castro, a former administrative assistant to former Taunton Mayor Charles Crowley; and Elizibeth Pottier, of Taunton, who has worked as a clerk for the city’s board of registrars.

Levasseur and Castro would have been unaffiliated, and Pottier is a Republican.

“I would hope that someone form the northern part of the county would get elected,” Lopes said. “(They are) always from the south … I think I broke the trend.”

McNiff said any challenges to the candidates’ signatures must be filed by May 30. Signatures were due locally last week, and candidates face a May 27 deadline to submit validated signatures to Galvin’s office.